Three generations in sixteen years and more than three million units sold worldwide - as of the end of June, those are the stats on the Toyota Prius. Even though Toyota says Prius sales might not reach the goal of 250,000 units this year, the little hybrid that could still doesn't have any problem flying off dealer lots. The second-generation Prius sold 1.2 million examples in its eight-year lifespan, and the third generation, introduced in 2009, has sold 1.7 million examples in just four years.

2012 was a good year for the Toyota Prius line, the hybrid that started it all moving 236,659 units, being the best-selling model in California for the year and the Prius C (pictured) being deemed the most reliable car of 2012 by Consumer Reports. Then 2013 happened, and gas prices dropped more than expected, and people haven't been buying the little hybrids like they used to.

November's US alternative-fuel vehicle sales remained steady relative to recent months as strong sales for Ford's C-Max hybrids and the all-electric Nissan Leaf offset the effect of lower Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid sales than October. Year-over-year growth rate slowed markedly because Toyota regained its normal hybrid sales pace about this time of year in 2011 after sales figures were hampered for much of last year by the effects of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which

We've heard the Toyota Prius jokingly called the State Bird of California, but recent sales data shows that the world's most popular hybrid is, in fact, the best-selling car in the state. Well, the best-selling vehicle line, at least, since the Prius now comes in four variants.

To get behind the wheel of most new 2013 Toyota Prius models, you'll have to pony up some extra cost compared to 2012 models. Around the cost of a few tanks of gas. The standard Prius Liftback version goes up by $200 and the Prius V goes up by between $100 and $155. The price for the Prius Plug-In stays the same (as does the one for the Prius C, we assume, as that model is not mentioned in Toyota's press release).

Rumors that Toyota would some day build the Prius in the U.S. have bounced around for years, with a location in Mississippi often being cited as the most likely candidate. After that plan was officially scrapped in 2008, a new version of the same story returned in 2010 when a Toyota executive vice president said Mississippi Prius production could start up in 2016. Given the on-again, off-again history of the story, we weren't surprised when not much was officially said about the matter in the la

Rumors that Toyota would some day build the Prius in the U.S. have bounced around for years, with a location in Mississippi often being cited as the most likely candidate. After that plan was officially scrapped in 2008, a new version of the same story returned in 2010 when a Toyota executive vice president said Mississippi Prius production could start up in 2016. Given the on-again, off-again history of the story we weren't surprised when not much was officially said about the matter in the las

Used hybrid-electric vehicle prices jumped six percent in February, Kelley Blue Book said, adding that used hybrids and fuel-efficient compact cars could see a 20 percent hike in resale values this year.

Perhaps the the "c" in the Prius C stands for ka-ching. According to reports, Toyota in Japan received 10 times its monthly sales target in pre-orders for the compact version of its Prius hybrid within the first five days of the model's debut, leading to what's likely to be a shortage and long wait times for the car.

Toyota sold more Prius V hybrid wagons in the U.S. during the model's first 10 weeks of availability than General Motors sold of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid all last year, Bloomberg News reported, citing Toyota spokeswoman Carly Schaffner.

Toyota has its work cut out for it to reach a hybrid sales goal recently elucidated by "top executives" who told Automotive News that the goal for North America is 400,000 units a year by 2015. Well, that's a possible goal, at least, should everything go right. In 2010, Toyota sold just under 200,000 hybrids in North America. Globally, Toyota thinks it can sell 1.2 million hybrids a year by 2015. It sold almost 700,000 in 2010, around 400,000 of which were Prius hybrids.

Back on Earth Day, Toyota opened up its U.S. reservation books for the Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Even though the first examples of the Prius Plug-In – which starts at $32,000 – will be available in select U.S. markets in the spring, the car won't be obtainable nationwide until early 2013. The car goes on sale in Europe starting next summer.

California Toyota dealers may or may not be running out of Priuses, but the hybrid is most certainly still popular. How else to explain the news that one million Priuses have been sold in the U.S., as Toyota just announced.